From GoFundMe to private project: Disabled vet says his border wall project gets $7M in donations

Air Force veteran and triple amputee Brian Kolfage, 37, said Wednesday that donors have given $7 million to his new idea: privately building the wall. (Will Seberger/ZUMAPRESS.com)

Air Force veteran and triple amputee Brian Kolfage, 37, who started the GoFundMe page in December to raise money for President Trump’s border wall, said Wednesday that donors have given $7 million to his new idea: privately building the wall, according to reports.

CBS News reported that Kolfage would use contributions from his new nonprofit, We Build the Wall, Inc. to build the barrier on private land.

The news outlet reported that $7 million had been redirected to We Build the Wall, and more than 120,000 donors have chosen this option.

“Our donors gave to us to get the job done, and they trust us to do so,” Kolfage said in an email to CBS News.

Kolfage didn’t return Fox News’ requests for comment on Wednesday afternoon.

Kolfage previously said he hopes to raise $1 billion.

Under his plan, segments of the wall would be privately built through negotiations with landowners along the border. Kolfage said his group is identifying areas that are frequently crossed; looking into wall solutions based on terrain, environment and other issues; and asking landowners if they will provide free or low-cost easements for its construction.

It’s not clear how this private effort would interact with any federal plans to build a wall in many of the same areas. Democrats in Congress have refused to authorize the billions Trump seeks for the project, leading to the ongoing partial government shutdown — now the longest in U.S. history.

Kolfage was severely wounded in a 2004 rocket attack at an Iraq airbase, losing both legs and one arm. He and his family live in the resort community of Sandestin, in Florida’s Panhandle.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.